Pardee’s first patient became ‘Pink Lady’ after pleasant stay

Published: Sunday, July 7, 2013 at 10:44 a.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, July 7, 2013 at 10:44 a.m.

Dorothy Keith vividly remembers her first trip to Pardee Hospital. Keith, now 92, had just given birth to her third daughter at Patton Hospital. Keith, like the other patients, was being transferred to Pardee once it opened in November of 1953.

She became the first patient admitted at Pardee 60 years ago.

The transfer was kind of an adventure.

“We didn’t have ambulances back then,” she said.

Keith was picked up in a black hearse owned by Jackson Funeral Service, which, along with Thomas Shepherd and Sons, was carrying patients to the new hospital.

The hearse pulled up to the side entrance, where Keith emerged on a stretcher and was carried into the hospital.

The adventure wasn’t over, yet. The hospital’s manager went home with the keys to the elevator, she said. With the elevators locked, she was carried up the stairs. The people carrying her tilted her around the corners.

“It was scary when they were tipping that thing,” she said.

In the end, Keith made it to her room and recalls the change in scenery well.

“It was all nice and fresh and new,” she said.

Keith originally came to Hendersonville in 1946 after marrying David Keith. Her husband, who worked in real estate, was a Hendersonville native, and the couple met at a wedding when Keith’s sorority sister was marrying one of David’s friends. They were both in the wedding party.

Her transition to Hendersonville was a smooth one. It was the perfect place for her to continue the community work she was doing in Pittsburgh.

Since that day nearly 60 years ago at Pardee, Dorothy Keith has dedicated her life to volunteering in the county. She actually liked her Pardee experience so much that she volunteered as a “Pink Lady.”

“I was a volunteer over there for 50 years,” she said. The “Pink Ladies” worked orange juice and coffee carts, delivered flowers to patients and performed other tasks around the hospital. She also volunteered at the library, for the Red Cross and Interfaith Assistance Ministry.

Dorothy Keith now lives at Carolina Village, but those memories of volunteering and working in the community are fond ones.

<p>Dorothy Keith vividly remembers her first trip to Pardee Hospital. Keith, now 92, had just given birth to her third daughter at Patton Hospital. Keith, like the other patients, was being transferred to Pardee once it opened in November of 1953.</p><p>She became the first patient admitted at Pardee 60 years ago.</p><p>The transfer was kind of an adventure.</p><p>“We didn't have ambulances back then,” she said.</p><p>Keith was picked up in a black hearse owned by Jackson Funeral Service, which, along with Thomas Shepherd and Sons, was carrying patients to the new hospital.</p><p>The hearse pulled up to the side entrance, where Keith emerged on a stretcher and was carried into the hospital.</p><p>The adventure wasn't over, yet. The hospital's manager went home with the keys to the elevator, she said. With the elevators locked, she was carried up the stairs. The people carrying her tilted her around the corners.</p><p>“It was scary when they were tipping that thing,” she said.</p><p>In the end, Keith made it to her room and recalls the change in scenery well.</p><p>“It was all nice and fresh and new,” she said.</p><p>Keith originally came to Hendersonville in 1946 after marrying David Keith. Her husband, who worked in real estate, was a Hendersonville native, and the couple met at a wedding when Keith's sorority sister was marrying one of David's friends. They were both in the wedding party.</p><p>Her transition to Hendersonville was a smooth one. It was the perfect place for her to continue the community work she was doing in Pittsburgh.</p><p>Since that day nearly 60 years ago at Pardee, Dorothy Keith has dedicated her life to volunteering in the county. She actually liked her Pardee experience so much that she volunteered as a “Pink Lady.”</p><p>“I was a volunteer over there for 50 years,” she said. The “Pink Ladies” worked orange juice and coffee carts, delivered flowers to patients and performed other tasks around the hospital. She also volunteered at the library, for the Red Cross and Interfaith Assistance Ministry.</p><p>Dorothy Keith now lives at Carolina Village, but those memories of volunteering and working in the community are fond ones.</p><p>“That was my life,” she said with a smile.</p>